Werder Bremen secured a victory against VfL Wolfsburg with a late winning goal. This should mean that the coaching discussion among Lower Saxony has reopened.
The disappointment was written all over Paul Simonis’s face. After Werder Bremen’s 2-1 (1-0) last-minute win, discussions about the continued employment of the VfL Wolfsburg coach are likely to pick up speed again. The Lower Saxons had led for a long time, but could not withstand the constant pressure from the Hanseatic League.
Bremen really deserved this success, even if they didn’t have the best day in terms of play. Despite falling behind early on, they never gave up and tried everything to fight for this victory. The goals for Bremen were scored by Jens Stage (83rd) and Samuel Mbanguka (90th + 4). Mattias Svanberg scored for Wolfsburg (28th).
“It was emotional, it was great that we managed to turn the game around. That’s extraordinary for us. I enjoyed the volume of the stadium again.”said Werder coach Horst Steffen to ARD.
Yannick Löwin, sports show, November 7th, 2025 11:03 p.m
Bremen initially more active
The Bremen team started early, after three minutes, extremely confidently. After a corner from Romano Schmid was aimed at the near post, Amos Pieper had a free header from five meters away, but VfL goalkeeper Kamil Grabara parried the ball spectacularly.
After the refreshing start, the game petered out as both teams acted tactically, cautiously and tried to avoid mistakes. If a team tried to attack, it was Bremen first.
But the Steffen team didn’t get beyond good approaches for a long time. Unlike in previous weeks, Wolfsburg defended their goal in a very compact and committed manner. Both teams seemed to be lulling each other to sleep until Wolfsburg suddenly picked up the pace.
Svanberg shocks Werder
On the right side, Mattias Svanberg and Sael Kumbedi played their way almost to the baseline, from where Kumbedi passed to Svanberg, who was free in the center of the penalty area, who had no trouble pushing the ball over the line from close range to make it 1-0 for the guests.
Bremen had the next big chance, Yukinari Sugawara (31′) took a corner on the edge of the Wolfsburg penalty area with a direct shot, the ball flew at great speed and just over the VfL crossbar.
“We don’t make it difficult for the opponent to score goals against us. We just make too many mistakes”said Wolfsburg captain Arnold to ARD.
Yannick Löwin, sports show, November 7th, 2025 10:57 p.m
Harmless Bremen
On the other hand, Maximilian Arnold tried a clever long-range shot from the right side of the penalty area, Werder goalkeeper Mio Backhaus (37th) was just able to direct the ball over the crossbar.
Bremen tried to equalize before the break, but apart from a long-range shot from Schmid, they were unable to put Wolfsburg in any more trouble. At the beginning of the second half, the Hanseatic team also tried to play with speed and pressure. They forced Wolfsburg into their penalty area and looked for their chance. But it lacked precision.
Bremen played without being able to create any danger in front of the visitors’ goal. Wolfsburg defended patiently and waited for occasional moments of transition to score the second goal.
Stage with the equalizer
Bremen’s Marco Grüll, with two long-range shots, and Victor Boniface, who came on as a substitute in the second half and narrowly missed the ball twice in a promising position, at least created a bit of a goal threat.
But the sustained attacks eventually had an effect. It was Jens Stage who rewarded Bremen’s efforts with his fourth goal of the season. After a cross from Sugawara from the right, the defensive midfielder was in the right place and headed in to make it 1-1.
“It was extremely tiring because we were chasing the equalizer for a long time. But in the end we deserved to win, we were the better team for 90 minutes.”said Bremen’s Marco Friedl.
Yannick Löwin, Sportschau, November 7th, 2025 10:48 p.m
Mbangula redeems Werder
Shortly before the end, Sugawara had a great chance from a tight angle and close range, but VfL goalkeeper Grabara prevented defeat with a brilliant save.
But just a short time later, Bremen scored the winning goal. After an arc from Boniface, Mbangula was the first to recognize the situation and hammered the ball into the Wolfsburg goal net from eight meters for the celebrated 2-1 victory.
Bremen in Leipzig, Wolfsburg against Leverkusen
Bremen will be guests at RB Leipzig on Sunday afternoon after the international break (3:30 p.m.). Wolfsburg welcomes Bayer Leverkusen on Saturday afternoon (3:30 p.m.).